Burned
by boozyaunt
Summary: Zelda had never been bothered by the smell of anything burning... until today.


**BURNED.**

The smell of anything burning never bothered Zelda Spellman... until today. Because now it was she whose flesh was being burned at the stake.

The scent of burning wood and the flesh of those murdered before her filled the witch's senses. Flames rose up from the pit below her feet, grazing the tips of her toes.

Zelda closed her eyes and clinched her teeth as tears poured out and spilled down her cheeks. She forced herself not to make a sound. Pain was something she could usually handle. She'd been training herself to do so for quite some time. But this was difficult, and the act of remaining silent was making it worse.

She wouldn't allow these men the satisfaction of her screams, though. No! She pushed on, forcing herself not to make a sound.

The witch stared into the eyes of her captor. Harvey Kinkle's father.

Zelda and the rest of her coven had been discovered. She knew it was only a matter of time. And of course it would be the father of her niece's boyfriend. The Kinkle's — formerly known as the notorious Von Kunkle's back in the day — came from a long line of witch hunters.

She should've never allowed Sabrina to date a mortal boy. She should've prevented her from doing so! But how? This was the stubborn girl who took orders from no one. Sabrina did her own thing - no matter how hard Zelda tried to rear her right.

How could she have been raised differently? The witch had no idea. And it didn't matter anymore. She'd done the best she could for her niece and look where that got them all.

Here.

At the stake.

Captured by hunters who would do anything to rid the world of their kind.

And she had no magic to set herself free. They'd drugged her with an elixir, preventing her from doing so.

How very f***ing cliche.

 **"Aunt Zee,"** came Sabrina's fear-filled voice beside her, snapping her out of her thoughts and returning her to the present moment.

Tears stung even more at the woman's eyes. Zelda would take all the pain in the world. Any day of the week. But, Lucifer's sake, not her niece. She would do anything to change Sabrina's fate.

She didn't offer the girl reassurances that everything was going to be alright. Because that would be a lie.

Look at them!

About to burn.

About to die for their so-called _crimes_!

No, it was always Hilda's job to make Sabrina feel better. It was Zelda's responsibility to be there for her - even when their world was crumbling around them.

"I'm here," she finally spoke out through gritted teeth, trying to push past a wave of pain she was fighting. She couldn't reassure Sabrina that she would find a way out of this mess, but she could at least let her know she was there with her in their final hour.

The flames had yet to reach Sabrina. But it wouldn't be long now. Zelda looked over at the teen. She fought back the tears as best she could, but it was no use. The sight of Sabrina tied up... oh, _it_ was what would kill her.

She forced her head to turn away. She wouldn't allow her niece to see her this way. There was nothing else said to the other. Her attention was now on the men shouting and laughing below.

 _"That's right. Burn witch!"_ she heard one mortal call out. __

_"Not so scary, now, are you? Ya filthy hag!"_ taunted another.

And here they claimed witches as the evil ones. Oh, if she could, she would snap their bloody necks! She would rip them limb from limb until there was nothing left of their pathetic lives.

Moments past by, and the pain grew. The rest of the world around Zelda went silent as the shock began taking over. She focused on not screaming out in agony. But it was no use. The flames were rising, crawling up and eating away at her flesh. She was burning, and oh it hurt like nothing she'd ever experienced before.

Her chest was tight. Her eyes burned with the tears spilling from them. Her mind and body reached a state of shock. And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't fight the cries.

And as the roaring flames rose around her, engulfing her body up with them as they did, the witch finally screamed, giving into her reality.

She was being burned alive.

She was nearing the end.

The last of her strength was depleting.

The final sounds ringing in her ears were not the slew of screams leaving her own lips, but that of her niece. Sabrina was crying out in an agony beyond anything Zelda heard coming from her before. And she'd soothed every single one of her tears throughout the years, so she would know.

 **"AUNT ZELDA! DO SOMETHING!"** was the final pleading shout she heard. It wasn't like Sabrina to ask for help anymore. And that made the woman's agony worse. Zelda tried fighting. She tried releasing herself from the binds. She fought to will any magic she had left in her to help set her niece free. **"PLEASE, AUNT ZEE! PLEASE!"**

But it was no use. There was no stopping the roaring flames around her. There was no stopping this heat. She was dying. Sabrina was dying. Hilda and Ambrose were going too, and there was nothing in this world she could do.

In her anger and fury, she cried out in distress as the realization washed over her - _she would not be able to save her family._ And it was in these last moments of her life, as the roaring flames grew higher and higher, that she felt the heavy weight of defeat.

There wasn't time to dwell. It was too late for that.

Zelda failed in protecting her family. The long-lasting Spellman name would end with them.

The fire took over now. Her mind went completely. There was one final shout to escape her lungs before her world went black, as the rest of her body went up in flames.

The witch burned. She burned until there was nothing left of her but ash and bone.

Every witch in Greendale burned that night. They burned and burned until the town was rid of them all.

They were gone.

And the hunters had won...

...or so they believed.

To be continued.


End file.
